Harsh conditions
by cookiegurl123
Summary: this is AU and bear with me my first fanfic. this is about kitty and Robert mostly but will try to include the walker family. set after 3x24 Robert has to go to New York with Kevin for a month and a half on a business trip and the distance between them wont help kitty and Roberts marriage but when a accident occurs Robert comes back and helps kitty and their family deal with it.
1. Chapter 1

Keep in mind this AU and set after 3x23. This is my first fanfic and I really love this couple and I am open to all requests! And I wanted kitty to have mid length hair like she did in season 5 and imagine that it'll grow longer throughout the chapters because she looked so pretty3 Robert has some news that causes him to move farther away from his marriage for a long period time and when an accident occurs he and kitty and the whole Walker clan struggle to deal with it.

"Hey kitty you there," said Robert

"Yea in here" kitty said while on her computer on their bed. "What's up" she said looking up at him

"I have some good news and bad news" kitty nodded for him to continue" well um… the campaign is taking some serious hits and me and Kevin need to go to New York and recruit some people that can handle this situation"

"Alright, how long will this take" looking at him hoping that it'll be for a couple of days only

"That's the thing; it's for about a month and a half". Kitty takes off her glasses and looks up at him awed "wait... What... Why so long"

"I can't go into specifics, Kevin and I are going up there this weekend" said Robert walking out of their bedroom and into their kitchen

Following him, kitty fights back saying "can't or won't! Robert we are trying to make this marriage work and you going across the state for a month and a half isn't helping!"

"I know, okay, I get it but this is important for my campaign and let's just be glad it's not longer" Robert said trying to drop the topic

Tiredly sighing, "You know what, fine, whatever I'm going back to bed"

~R&K~

A/N well this is it and I would really like reviews and follows and favs. I will try my best to update it weekly but you know with school starting, it won't be much. I am including the whole walker characters including Ryan, holly, Rebecca, Saul, and etc. and some small characters that were mentioned during the show.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day Scotty, kitty, and Evan took Kevin and Robert to the airport, reminding both of them to call them when they land.

"Ok so you have your passport, phone, ticket…" Kitty was rambling on and on checking if he had forgotten anything.

"Yes I do, I have all of that, now let me say goodbye to our son" picking Evan up and giving him a kiss on the cheek and doing the same to Kitty only it was a little more awkward because of the trouble they are going through," alright um… I'll see you both when we get back". Kitty waved goodbye as her husband walked off to the gate.

"Alright now I have to go but I love you and…" leaning in close to Scotty" don't let kitty drink gin that makes her go haywire" making hand gestures and kidding at the same time. Kitty smacked him in the back of his head and then Scotty laughed and then waved goodbye to his husband.

"What happened with you and gin" Scotty asked as they were walking back to Kitty's car (escalade)

"All you need to know that it is the devil's drink and I am never touching that stuff ever again" kitty said strapping in Evan. "trust me it's a long story which would cause both of us needing something stronger than gin".

They both went to Kitty's and Robert's house seeing as they were both spouseless. "Alright let me go make dinner and you can call everyone to come over" Scotty says while he gets the ingredients to make the dinner.

"Ok I'm going to go change Evan and I'll be right back" Kitty says heading toward Evan to take him to his room.

An hour later, Saul comes over with Holly and Rebecca, with some good news to share. Saul was opening a bottle of wine when Nora, Justin, and Sarah (who was down in the dumps about her fault being it was her that caused Ojai to fail and her intuitions were wrong). They were all scattered about drinking wine. Sarah was lying on the couch, head in Kitty's lap saying that it was all her fault while watching some soap opera and Nora was sitting diagonally from her in the oversized chair comforting her while kitty was having trouble drinking the wine Saul brought over and felt like throwing it up.

Nora noticing Kitty, "sweetie are you alright?"

A/N sorry if the last one short, I'll be updating next week if I got time. Please leave reviews and I'll take requests if you have any and if you want you can recommend any TV shows that you watch and you'll think I'll like.


	3. Chapter 3

'Hmm oh um yeah I don't think this wine is for me'

'Oh then alright, well do you want me get a different bottle I'm sure Saul won't mind

'No no it's ok I'm good I guess I'm just not feeling it tonight' kitty says while laying back, putting the glass on the end table next to her and starts stroking Sarah's hair

'Well what is it you know you can talk to me about anything' looking concerned at Kitty and taking her mind off of Sarah

'Gee mom just like that you found something to forget all the crap I did to make Ojai fail, wish I could do that' sitting up and leaning forward to get her glass

'Oh stop being a sour puss we all had a part in it' Saul comes over saying

'That's right it wasn't just you and plus look how far we gotten past everything' holly says sitting down next to Sarah

'Yeah she's right Sarah, I mean we've gotten over dad's embezzlement and paid back every cent of what he took' says Kitty

Scotty comes over and tells them that dinner is ready. Everyone gets up and makes their way outside to the table. Saul and Nora at the heads of the table. Right of Nora is Justin Rebecca and holly and to the left of Nora is Sarah Scotty and Kitty with Evan squeezed in at the corner. While everyone got their food Saul stood up preparing to make a toast

' I would like to make a toast' Saul said standing up with his glass and everyone turns to look at him ' first I would like to thank kitty for offering up her lovely home for this dinner…'

'You know you didn't have to bother Kitty, we could've used my house and hey I could've even made the food' Nora said interrupting Saul's toast

'Well what's wrong with my house' 'nothing is wrong with it sweetie I just thought that we would use my house' 'well mother there's nothing wrong with change for a bit' they argued for a little bit before Saul; interrupted them

'Ladies ladies calm down, kitty is right nothing is wrong with a change'

'Alright, alright' Nora putting her hands up in surrender

'Thank you, now as I was saying, we have been through a lot these past few years, and from other people's point of view, we wouldn't be considered a normal family' he jokes as they chuckle with him 'but we wouldn't be broken up as one either. Ojai closing is a reset button for me, for all of us actually we've suffered terrible moments but we also had great ones, ones that I wouldn't even dream about passing it up for something more mild and calm. What I'm trying to say is that Ojai is a part of us and no one would ever change that, so with said I would like to share some good news. Scotty and I are opening a restaurant; Café 429'

'Wow wow that's great' 'really fantastic' 'congratulations' everyone kept on congratulating them on the good news

Scotty got up; glass in hand 'thank you guys your support really means the world to us. We are having our tasting in about three weeks at Ojai ranch and we would all appreciate if you guys would come'

'Why in three weeks if it's a tasting' asked Justin

'oh well we have to talk to some people about buying the property and then we could start up in about two months and guys I haven't told Kevin about this yet so just don't bring up until I do and Kitty please don't say anything to Robert yet'

'oh yeah sure, you know you guys act as if I'm like CNN in the family when the actual reporter is in New York right now'

'oh well you know you can get a little chatty you might as well be the Daily Bugle to CNN' 'so not true' 'umm sorry to burst your bubble but yeah you are' and it went on like that for the rest of the dinner.

~R&K~

NEW YORK

8:50 a.m.

Robert and Kevin are in the car on their way to meet with a potential supporter of him. 'Ok I'm sorry to bring this up in our little rendezvous here but I do feel like I have to say something seeing as you are my boss and best friend and kitty is my sister'

Robert nodded him to continue 'ok so you do realize this is unfair to do this to Kitty especially since she's really putting in an effort'

'Oh what and I'm not' offended by the statement

'no I'm not saying that you're not but' sighing trying to find a way to explain this 'Kitty did suggest couples counseling and she is trying to be more supportive of your decision to run for governor and if you do know Kitty, then she would've try to claw your eyes out the minute you told her'

Robert chuckled and agreed with him 'yeah you're probably right' sighing 'let me see if we could get leave a bit earlier' grabbing out his phone and dialing a few numbers, 'Alex hey, I was wondering if I could leave the trip earlier… yeah that would do… ok thanks bye' he hangs up the phone 'we leave in three weeks' 'well it's better than nothing' 'you got that right' 'I'll leave a message for scotty to tell kitty that we'll be coming home in three weeks' which Kevin did by doing so

California

9:00 a.m.

Kitty is sitting down with Evan playing with one of his toys and making funny movements to it. Then the phone rings and she reaches over to the coffee table to get it and answers it

'hey scotty… wait what calm down… oh really that's great… well just tell them to meet us up at the ranch and you can explain everything… don't worry he's going to be supportive of this' Kitty hears the doorbell ring 'Scotty can I call you back, I think mom's here to pick up Evan… ok bye'

She stands up and walks over and sees Nora standing with a bag in her bag in hand 'mom thanks so much for doing this'

'Oh sweetie its fine really, no problem at all I deserve a little time with my grandson'

'Well ok then umm don't let him eat too much sweets and if you want you can take him to the park, I even think he has a crush there'

'Aww honey that's so cute' grabbing Evan's hand and leading him out the door 'bye have fun' she waves goodbye.

2 hours later

Kitty is sitting on her couch reading a book on "How to Maintain your Marriage" when she hears the doorbell ring. Sighing and putting down her book Kitty gets up and go and answers it. When she opens the door she sees Ryan standing there looking nervous.

'Hey Ryan longtime no see come on in'

'Err thanks' he walks in when Kitty closes the door. He shoves her a bit forward gently and locks the door and then looks out the curtain to see if anybody is watching them

'Is everything alright' getting suspicious and worried 'hmm oh yeah just you know always looking out for strangers hehe'

'Alright then what brings you by?'

'It's about my mom and your dad' nodding for him to continue 'what about them' 'I need more information about what you heard with your dad'

'I told you all that I know sorry' shrugging

'Kitty you don't have to worry, I'm not going to get mad, just tell me the truth'

'Ryan I swear that is the truth, I know no more information than you do'

'You see Kitty I think you're lying to protect your precious family' moving in a little closer to her while kitty takes steps back, trying to move closer to the phone

A/N thanks for all those who were reading but I think I'm going to end this story soon because I wasn't getting enough responses but I do hoped you enjoy this, I will still be updating but it will come to a close soon


	4. Chapter 4

Kitty dashed towards the phone but Ryan pulled her back by grabbing her hair and threw her to the ground. He then started vigorously punching her face and kicking her stomach. From that, she is left with two black eyes, one slowly starting to swell up. Bruised hand prints marked her shoulders and back, while leaving the abdominal area a purple-yellow tint. Her cheekbone was severely bruised and there was a tear on her lip. Ryan's act was finished and he quickly left his half-sister lying on the floor in throbbing pain. Kitty managed to lug herself to the corner of the room with the phone in her hand and started to rock herself back and forth figuring out what to do. Her confusion of what just happened was getting in the way of her task.

Kitty snapped back into reality and gently started punching numbers into her phone. A couple of rings were heard; finally a 'hello' sprung to her ears.

"Hello?" asked Rebecca.

Kitty's voice was shaking, "Rebecca, can you come over for a bit?"

"Yeah, sure I'm in the car with my mom. What's wrong? Did something happen?" the concern in her voice was showing.

"Just get over here. I'll explain everything." Kitty hangs up the phone abruptly.

'Hmm that's weird' looking surprised and confused Rebecca puts her phone back in her purse

'What's wrong did something happen' holly looks at her daughter in concern

'Well kitty just asked me to come over and her voice was shaking almost as If she was scared, do you mind if we take a little detour'

'Yeah sure' taking another turn to head toward Santa Barbra

~R&K~

'Oh alright then call me if you feel any better' Nora hangs up the phone

'What's wrong' Saul asks

'Kitty just called wanting to know if Evan can sleep over, saying that she was sick and didn't want Evan to get sick too'

'Well then what's the matter?'

'I don't know but something seemed a little off. Maybe I should go over there and check on her, see if she needs anything you know?'

'Nora stop that, kitty probably just has a really bad cold or something, don't make this into a bigger deal'

'Fine fine but what do you expect she's my daughter I'm worried for her'

'I know but you have to show a little faith in your kids and trust them to figure it out'

~R&K~

Rebecca pushes the front door seeing as it was already open. She and holly walks inside and asks 'hello kitty?" she hears a sound coming from the corner and looks over there and gasps in horror.

"Shut the door" kitty says very demandingly

"Oh my god what happened to you" ask Holly

'Just shut the door'

Holly does what she says while Rebecca walks over to kitty and touches her face. Kitty winces in pain.

'Kitty what the hell happened, why didn't you call the cops' asked Rebecca

'Look I'll tell you everything just don't say anything bout this to anyone ok?' Rebecca nods in response 'holly?'

Holly is reluctant at first but then agrees, 'alright here's what happened…' kitty tells them the whole story while they both look in kitty in shock

'kitty you need to tell the cops what happened this is very serious and you need to go to the hospital and tell your family, OH GOD your family Robert what will they say about all this?' kitty looks down when she hears Robert's name

'Kitty' holly walks over to her, 'I've been in your situation before ok? I know you are feeing scared and frightened but you cannot let that get to you. You have to stay strong'

Kitty looks up to her 'holly please I know ok? I know you were almost raped on a film you were working on but this is different ok! Someone was there to stop that man, but no one was here to stop Ryan and no one was here to help me' kitty says with her voice quavering through gritted teeth

'I will tell everyone after I tell Robert alright?'

'Great then let's call him' Rebecca says taking out her phone

'No!' sighing and taking a gulp 'no I'll tell him when he gets back from new York'

'But that's three weeks away, how are you even going to avoid your family especially Nora and Evan for that matter' holly asks

'Moms going to drop Evan off tomorrow I'll tell her then and hope she won't tell anyone else'

'Fine at least you'll tell her, but we should get the police involved and we have to get you to the hospital' Rebecca says 'she's right' holly says

'can we hold off on the hospital I'm fine, I think I just need an ice pack and some pain relievers' kitty says while heaving herself off the floor and then wincing in pain

'Whatever you want but what about the police' Rebecca asks

'I think I have the chief of police in my contacts can you go get my phone I'll think he could do a quiet investigation, he owes me a favor'

'I'll get it' holly says running off to the other direction

Rebecca helps kitty to the sofa and lays her feet on top of Rebecca's lap who is sitting next to her. Holly finds Kitty's phone and hands it to her. She dials the number and waits for someone to pick up. After a few minutes kitty says the chief will be there and he said he'll try to be discreet.

**30 minutes later**

The chief arrives at her house along with a detective and a camera and kitty explains everything to him. He expresses his condolences and said that he will try everything in his power to find Ryan (because Kitty was always nice to him)

The chief sighs saying 'alright kitty I gotta warn you, this won't be pretty since your husband's running for governor. We'll try to keep it on the down low but the pictures that we took, somebody's gonna find them and they will leak it'

'I understand' kitty says nodding

The chief looks at her questionably 'and you need to get these bruises looked at cuz they don't look too good'

'I will thank you so much' kitty says while holly closes the door behind them

Kitty looks to both of them 'can you guys help me go upstairs I wanna take a bath'

'Yeah sure' Rebecca and holly take her by the waist and help her to the bathroom. They set her down on the bed. Holly goes into the bathroom and turns on the water and waits for it to turn warm. Then Rebecca helps her inside and carefully takes off kitty's clothes she was wearing. She then steps into the tub while Rebecca helps her lay back and takes a sponge and squeezes it over her body. Kitty winces in pain every step of the way. The doorbell rings and holly goes downstairs to see who it is.

Nora is surprised to see holly at the door. 'Holly what are you doing here, where's kitty an why is the house such a mess'

Holly tries to come up with and answer while Nora stares at her suspiciously and concerned then she lets her in and sits her down on the sofa and explains everything to her. After half an hour crying Nora goes upstairs to see her daughter. She stops in the doorway when she sees kitty's severely bruised face sitting on the bed in her organic cotton robe that she remembers her buying as one of her wedding gifts.

'Mom what… wait what are you doing here' kitty asks while lying down

'Kitty the real and most obvious question is why didn't you call me?!'

'We'll be downstairs' holly says before she and Rebecca left

'I'm sorry mother but I need to call someone that won't pamper me and smother me like you do' kitty says back to her with her voice cracking and in pain while tears come out of her eyes

'Oh kitty I'm your mother for god sakes' Nora says while sitting down next to her 'what are you even doing here anyway where's Evan'

'He's at Sarah's house I dropped him off there'

'Oh ok that's good' kitty paused before taking a gulp and looking her straight in the eyes 'mom promise me, don't tell anyone' 'but…' 'No buts ok I can't have anyone finding out that this happened to me' kitty says sternly with a tear sliding down her face

'Oh honey' putting a hand to kitty's face but she grabs it and sets it down 'promise me' 'alright… sweetie lay down you must be exhausted from today'

'No mom its fine' 'no it's not now lay down' kitty reluctantly does so Nora wraps her arm around her and lets her fall asleep. While she's sleeping Nora notices her hand (which is all purple and bruised and has little bit of blood spurting out. She silently prays to herself hoping she will make a full recovery

**3 weeks** has passed and tomorrow would be the tasting up at Ojai. Kitty has still yet to tell her family what happened to her and her stomach felt worse and worse however one of her black eye was fainting and her other eye had swelled down. Her left hand got bandaged. Robert was up in the polls. Ryan was caught two weeks after and was sentenced 4 years in prison. Holly Rebecca and Nora was camping out kitty's house along with evan. Everyone was getting suspicious and concerned and angry. Sarah called Robert and Kevin to help but unfortunately they got nowhere. Kitty told them that she'll explain everything at Ojai

Kitty was getting ready for the ride. She was wearing a white blouse with a black v neck sweater over it. She put on her coat and walked out with Evan with Nora behind her carrying their bags. She strapped Evan in with one hand (struggle!) and Nora was putting the bags in the trunk heading her way to the driver's seat. They both got in the car with holly and Rebecca behind them driving. Inside kitty was scared out of her freakin mind! She had not told anyone in her family what happened to her, she knew that they were going to be furious, her lying wouldn't help her and Robert's marriage at all, she'd been dodging Sarah's and everyone else's phone calls, and wondering what they suspected and hoped mom hadn't told anyone

Nora was driving trying not to lose her cool. She secretly told Saul what happened because he is of course her brother. She could see that kitty would act out for a little while but she doesn't know how long it would last and scared that she lost her forever. She could see that she's been hurting and refused to go to the hospital claiming that she's fine when she's clearly not. She really hopes that she'll let someone in

Holly was behind kitty's car driving, knowing this would be a long weekend. She felt bad for Rebecca because she couldn't tell Justin her fiancé about what was going on and she knew that he is going to be furious but she couldn't do anything about it because it was up to Kitty now. Rebecca tried to keep her mind off of Justin and his face when he finds out. Part of her hopes that he'll be mad at the fact that she hasn't seen him in two weeks not the fact that she lied, when she said that she didn't know anything about kitty.

Nora pulls up into the driveway and holly pulls up from behind them. Taking a deep breath kitty opens the door, grabs a bag and waits for Nora to get Evan down from his seat. Saul comes out and gives kitty a big hug then lets go and says he's so sorry

'Mom' kitty turns around

'Now this wasn't your mother's fault I made her tell me'

Kitty sighs and decides to let this go 'are you mad at me? Is everyone else mad at me?' grimacing

'I'm not mad at you kitty, you were extremely brave and I'm proud of you and I also hope that son of a bitch dies in jail too hehe. And yeah they are kinda pissed that you haven't talked to them three weeks straight especially Sarah'

'Are they all here?' holly asks from behind

'Yeah including Robert and Kevin, c'mon I'll walk you guys in they're sitting out in the backyard, we are about to move inside' Saul says with his arm around kitty's waist, grabbing the bag and walks up the steps with her.

Kitty stops on the porch and winces in pain clutching her stomach 'are you alright' 'kitty what's wrong'

'Nothing I'm fine can I just have a moment' kitty says continuing to walk to the door

'Kitty you need to go to the hospital' Rebecca says

'She hasn't gone to the hospital yet?!' Saul exclaimed sitting kitty down on the steps

'No she's been putting it off and now its catching up to her' holly says

'Mom can you take Evan inside I'm sure he would like to see his dad'

'Yea sure' Nora says grabbing Evan's hand 'here let me help you' Saul offers to grab one of their bags

'Guys you could head up inside I just need a minute'

'Kitty I'm not sure…' 'Just go'

Kitty takes a deep breath and heads inside. She hears all the voices out in the backyard including her own mother making an excuse for me. She takes off her coat and puts her coat on the coat rack, pulls down her baggy sweater a little bit, tucks a piece of her wavy hair, goes for the glass of wine on the table, sits down on the couch, and crosses her legs waiting for them to come in. she felt a bit dizzy and drowsy and there was so much pain she started coughing. She put down the glass and headed upstairs to her room

'Where oh where is sleeping beauty' she heard Justin calling for her heading their way to the dining room

'Justin! Don't be so rude'

'no no he has a right to be rude we haven't seen or heard from her for three weeks mom, how the hell is she going to get away from that' exclaimed Sarah

'yeah and she said that she'll give us an explanation today so…' snared Kevin

'Why are you mad you were on a business trip with Robert' asked Scotty

'oh I know it's payback for telling you all those embarrassing stories about me when I was younger' Kevin smirked

'You know guys I think she just wanted some time to herself to think through some stuff' said Robert carrying Evan in

'Guys when you see kitty please be mindful, she actually does have a pretty good reason' said Saul

'Oh yeah good enough to take my fiancé and her mom away for three weeks, you know we're family she should tell us'

'Guys shh Evan is sleeping' Robert said whispering

Everyone murmured 'sorry'

'You know I did call, and plus you were studying so this did help' said Rebecca

'Yeah but you lied to me about where you were and about kitty too'

'Kitty didn't want us to tell anyone alright, this was hard enough on her than it was on us' said holly

'Fine but she should at least have the decency to tell us now if not then' whispered Sarah

Kitty heard all of them seeing how the walls are so thin. She started unpacking some of her clothes and Evan's. When she was done she began walking down the stairs as quietly as she could and headed her way to the dining room.

'Does she at least know that her own half-brother went to jail for four years! I mean come on, I know that Kitty can be cruel but this is a new low'

'How cruel can I be Sarah?' kitty asks calmly

Everyone stood in shock and awe besides those who knew about kitty who now are feeling sorry for her. They all saw the black eyes, bruised cheekbone, and cut on her lip. Everything else wasn't visible to them

'Tell me because for three weeks I was suffering alright? I was going through hell because my HALF-BROTHER decides to attack me out of nowhere trying to get enough information about his mom and our dad! And then I couldn't get up the courage to tell you guys so I called Rebecca, and holly and mom were just there, now that wasn't my fault. Oh and the best part is that my husband was in New York at the time he wasn't there and I just didn't want to see the look you guys are giving me now' tears were streaming all over her face now and her voice cracking

(Song: comes and goes in waves by Greg laswell)

'I'm gonna go upstairs I'm tired' gesturing to the direction she headed in

'I have to talk to her' Robert says putting Evan down on the couch and heads upstairs himself

He opens the door and sees kitty taking of her shoes 'Robert I said I'm tired'

'Kitty we have to talk about this'

She stands up facing towards him 'that's the thing Robert I don't want to talk about this ok? I'm sorry I didn't tell you this and I'm sorry that I just made our marriage harder to fix and…'

'kitty you were hurt, and I wasn't there to help you through it' he walks over to kitty's side and sits her down 'I was worrying so much on my campaign, that I didn't put much effort in our marriage anymore, that was the real problem'

'No Robert… sighs I was afraid that if I told you, you would be forced to stay in this relationship and I… I… don't want that for you, for us!'

'Kitty I love you too much to quit on us'

'Oh god Robert I am so so soo sorry and… ' Looking down at her hands wrapped in his 'I love you too'

Robert smirks and leans in for a kiss. Kitty moves closer into a deep and passionate kips and then pulls away

'We should go back downstairs' standing and loosening his tie

'Yeah we should' kitty tries to stand up but sits back down and gets into another coughing fit, but much larger this time

A/N sorry guys if this didn't have much of rob/kitty in it next chapter will tho and I'm adding songs that I like to fit in as background music for that scene


	5. Chapter 5

Kitty starts coughing up blood and clutches on to Roberts hand. Robert then calls for Justin. He comes up and starts calling for help while everyone else helps Kitty to lay back. After a few minutes everyone heard the sirens coming

'Kitty don't worry help is on the way alright stay with me' Justin says who was on his knees next kitty 'kitty?' he shakes her but she lied there motionless and unconscious. He checks her pulse 'she's not breathing' he starts to gives her mouth to mouth while Robert strokes her hair and holds her hand.

Then the paramedics came in with a stretcher and took her off along with Robert who rode with them

(To build a home by the cinematic orchestra)

They were all waiting in the waiting room. Robert was pacing around, holly was calling David to let him know what happened, Nora was sitting down with Evan in her lap, and Rebecca was playing cards with Justin and Sarah. Saul and Scotty were reading a magazine and Kevin was making some calls to get rid of the press that was surrounding the front of the hospital.

'This is all my fault we should've taken her to the hospital' said Rebecca

'Don't beat yourself up about it, kitty's strong and stubborn, you couldn't even make her go with her hands and legs tied behind her back' said Sarah 'and plus if kitty should be mad at anyone it should be me'

'No it should be me' Justin says

'I'm not saying I'm agreeing with you but hypothetically it should be both of you'

'Scotty!'

'Nora I'm not agreeing with them I'm just correcting them, I know they said all that because they didn't know what happened to her'

'ok um Robert' everyone turns to look at Kevin 'I can't get rid of the press and everyone agrees it's best to make a statement about what just happened, you don't have to do it now whenever you want'

Robert nods in response and then sits down next Nora with his head in hands

'I got chips does anyone want any' Kevin says

'Yeah man I'm starving' 'over here'

Kevin throws it to Sarah and Justin while everyone says no

'Kitty McCallister' they hear the doctor

Robert walks up to her 'how is she'

'She's good and stable as of right now. Her lung collapsed and there was some internal bleeding but we got it all in time and she's in recovery right now'

Everyone exhales in relief 'so when can we see her' Nora asks

' you may see her now if you would like, I would suggest one or two people and I'm sorry your son won't be allowed in the room, there's too many wires for him to play with but she can see him when a nurse wheels her down here.

'Ok what room?'

'158'

'Ok thank you so much' Robert says heading down her room

Robert opens the door and sees her lying there with an IV drip and heart monitor connected to her, and a nose cannula in her nose. He takes off his jacket and sits there and waits for her to wake up

**3 hours later**

Kitty stirs and starts to wake up.

'Oh, how long have I been asleep' kitty says propping herself up

'About five hours' Robert says getting up from his chair

'Who's with Evan?'

'Sarah I think'

'I wanna see him' she croaked

'Oh honey they won't let him up here' moving to sit next to Kitty's hand

'Are you telling me I have to wait until I get released?'

'No, no, we can get a wheelchair to take you down to see him'

'That's good'

Robert took a pause before speaking 'kitty your mom told me that you didn't want to go to the hospital and that you were feeling pain before you got to the ranch'

'I know, but I didn't think that it would get this bad' she said raspy

'You could've died and Evan would've been left without a mother!'

'I'm sorry, please don't be mad'

Robert sighs and takes her hand 'I'm so many things right now, and mad is one of them but not at you'

Kitty smiles and puts her hand on Robert's cheek and he kisses her then pulls away 'you should get some rest'

'Can you stay with me' Robert smiles and kitty moves over when he lies down next to her with his arm draped over her holding her hand. Nora peeks in, sees them sleeping and walks out of the room and ropes up the troops.

'Alright scotty get the food and bring it here' Nora instructed him

'Awesome I'm starving' Justin says

'Not for you it's for the nurses, I want kitty to be their favorite patient here'

'I'll call the deli and get some matzo ball soup' Saul says

Everyone groans 'hey it's either this or the crap they're serving in the cafeteria' Saul says

'Alright Sarah take Evan home and call the sitter to watch him and get some food in his belly he must be starving, poor thing and get kitty's toiletries you know what kind she likes . Everyone else go with Sarah, get kitty's clothes and bring them over to my house she'll be staying there, then freshen up and meet back here.'

'Um mom did you talk to Robert or kitty about staying at your house' asked Kevin

'No but do you think she would want to stay at the house where she got attacked after coming home from the hospital' she heard silence 'that's what I thought'

~R&K~

Robert stirs from his sleep and wakes up with kitty nuzzled into his neck and her arm on his waist. Slowly he gets up careful not to wake her up and hears her beginning to wake up

'Hmmm what time is it' he hears her say

He takes a second to look at his watch and yawns '6 a.m., you can sleep if you want I need to sign some paperwork'

'No that's alright I'm already awake' sitting up 'can you hand me the remote' and he does so. She turns on the news and sees that they're talking about her

'Kitty Walker-Mccallister sent to the hospital from an abusive beating that was caused by her half-brother Ryan Lafferty. Sources confirmed that this took place three weeks ago at her house in Santa Barbra.' She turns off the TV and then Robert walks over to her and hugs her and says it'll be alright

~R&K~

Everyone came in the hospital changed and ready to see kitty. Nora came in early and brought hair products and accessories. Saul brought in some matzo ball soup for her; Sarah brought magazines and her robe. Justin and Rebecca brought in Evan. Scotty and Kevin brought the food for the nurses.

Kevin spotted Robert at the nurses' station 'hey how you doing'

'I'm fine but why are there so many forms for bringing kitty down, there are more signatures needed here than getting an initiative on a ballot, I'm gonna talk to someone here'

'Dude it's just best to sign these, I mean they are protecting their patients here'

'Ha easier said than done, and when did you become their lawyer' looking up from the paperwork

'Ok you obviously need to take a break from this, I'll handle this just go upstairs, and everyone else is there except for Scotty who's handing out food to the nurses'

'No no you need to talk to kitty; she probably wants to talk to you'

'You sure?' 'Yeah I got it here thanks'

~R&K~

'Hey sleepy head' Sarah says while walking in with Justin Rebecca Nora Saul behind her. Few seconds later Kevin walks in

'Ok let me start off by saying how sorry we are, I mean…' everyone starts talking at the same time

'Guys guys guys! If anyone is apologizing it's me ok? I'm the one who didn't tell you guys and I've been distant and stubborn and… and… I'm sorry'

They smile her and change the topic and talk about Justin's wedding. After that they get kitty ready to go downstairs. Justin and Robert put their arms around her to steady her and she winces in pain. Nora puts helps her put the robe around her and wraps it tightly and then they set her down in the wheelchair. They are waiting for the nurse to take me down.

'No… no… no… why can't you take me down' she whines to Robert

'Sweetie its hospital policy but after that I can take you outside, Evan's waiting with Rebecca'. Kitty sighs and lays back into the chair and then the nurse began wheeling her down. Robert took over and waited outside for Rebecca to get there. He bends down and puts the brake and sits in the chair across from her.

'Kitty we need to talk, about this and what it does to us'

'I was hoping that you wouldn't say that'

He leans in closer to her 'I really wish you would've called me, I mean we were going through some problems but… you really should've called me'

'I know I'm so sorry' she leans in closer 'I just really wanted us to focus on fixing on marriage and not me' saying that part slowly

'Honey you and Evan are one of the most important things that have ever happened to me. I don't know what I would do if I lost either one of you'

'You are not going to lose us, I promise' she leans in and kisses his forehead and hugs him

Rebecca comes in with Evan 'oh is this a bad time I can come back later'

'No, no, I missed my baby' Rebecca puts him on her lap and leaves. Kitty then hugs him tightly. Robert can see that she's in pain, goes and kisses her head and puts his hand in hers.

Kitty was thinking about the time they brought Robert home from the hospital and how he was depressed. She decided that she wasn't going to let that happen to her

~R&K~

For the next three days kitty has been plastering a smile when she really wanted to cry and everyone but Nora has been noticing that she's been faking and trying to tell her that she doesn't need to do that

'Kitty you know you don't need to act happy every second, you are entitled to lash out' said Kevin who was watching while Robert was bringing the car around 'I mean you've been freakishly happy the past few days and what happened to you, you deserve a break'

'And I got it' she looks up from her magazine and smiles 'from all of you'

'I think he meant a break from us' said Sarah who was behind the wheelchair

'Well what do you mean, I love you all very much, and you guys are my support system, why would I need a break from that'

'Umm… same reason why you went to New York for three years' said Justin who was standing next to Kevin. Kitty looks at them questionably. 'Mom!' they all say unanimously

'Oh my god is this about me, Robert, and Evan staying at her house, and for once I'm not complaining'

'Yeah' 'pretty much' 'bingo!'

'Ok guys mom is doing a nice thing alright? Robert is running for governor, my body still hurts from the surgery and someone needs to watch Evan. The only person who's probably qualified to do that is our mother'

'What about me' they turn around seeing Nora standing there with some of kitty's stuff

Kitty spoke up 'oh nothing mom, but who's watching Evan' trying to change the topic

'Oh Saul and Scotty are, they volunteered' kitty nodded

(Freight train by Sarah Jackson Holman)

Robert pulls up with the car and helps Nora put the stuff in the trunk. Kevin takes his place behind the wheel and Justin picks her up and puts her in the seat behind Kevin and leaves with Sarah. Robert sits in the passenger seat and Nora sits behind him.

When they got to Nora's place, Justin was getting out of Sarah's car. Nora got out first

'Where is the wheelchair?!'

'Now calm down,' Sarah said slowly and calmly

Robert and Kevin were holding her up 'mom' Nora turns and looks at her 'its fine I told them not to'

'But the doctor says not to push yourself too hard'

'And I'm not, I'm just walking with a little bit of help' referring to Kevin and Roberts arms wrapped around her waist

'Kitty, the doctor said that the pills that she gave you will cause extreme nausea and fatigue and that they can kick in soon so…'

Kitty interrupted her 'they kicked in awhile ago mother' everyone looks at her concerned 'I'm fine guys I'm fine, really, I just wanna get some sleep' they walk her up to the room and helps put her to bed

When they get downstairs in the kitchen they talk silently amongst themselves

'Oh I forgot, did someone call tommy and update him' asked Nora

'I did he said he'll be coming in tomorrow noon' said Sarah

'Oh that's good how's Elizabeth?'

'Mom cut the chit chat' snarled Kevin

'Kevin!' exclaimed Scotty 'c'mon dude' said Justin

'No I'm sick and tired of her not noticing it and I'm sick of Kitty acting this way'

'Noticing what' everyone gets silent 'c'mon tell me'

Scotty stops cutting and looks up 'the fact that kitty is faking and isn't letting anyone in'

'kitty is dealing and this is hard for her so maybe we should just let her act like this and then she'll get over it and for the record Kevin I have noticed it I'm her mother for Pete's sake'

'Then do something about it, in fact what are we all doing standing and talking about this when what we should've been doing is telling her to snap out of it'

'We've been doing that Kevin, it's not working' Sarah says grabbing the wine

'No, no, we've been saying to her calmly, you see we need her to show some emotions and then, that's where we jump in to comfort her'

'And how are you going to do that, yell at her until she starts crying' asks Robert taking a beer out of the fridge

'Well I'm willing to take one for the team' Kevin says

'Kevin even I know that's taking it way too far' says Nora

'She's right' 'yea Kevin take it easy' 'don't do that'

'Sarah!?'

'I love kitty and I want what's best for her but yelling at her will only make it worse, I mean she can turn into a ticking time bomb again'

'Wow, guys do you even care that she can turn in to this person permanently, and I don't want that for my big sister' Kevin says and walks out the door

'I'll go talk to him' Scotty says following him

~R&K~

Robert walks in and checks on kitty 'hey you didn't sleep?'

She shakes her head 'nope the nausea kicked in' Robert sits down next to her and puts his arm around her and kisses her head 'where's Evan, is he still with holly downstairs'

'Yea, she's gonna put him to bed soon' kitty nods and starts reading a book that Nora left out for her and then Robert starts doing the same. Few moments later they hear Kevin coming up the stairs

Robert sighs and puts down his book and glasses and looks at kitty and sees that she's been on the same page the last time he checked

'Ok kitty you need to stop this now!' Kevin comes barging in screaming with everyone else following

'Kevin don't' 'stop this' 'oh god I can't believe this is happening'

'What's going on?' kitty asks and looks to Robert who just shakes his head in disbelief

'Let me tell you what's happening, my big sister is completely avoiding her emotions and I'm afraid that she's gone forever. And the fact is everyone wants to believe that you're gonna come back but they're wrong' Kevin yells even louder which causes kitty to drop the book, run to the bathroom and lock it

She sits down holding a towel clutching it to her mouth so that they don't hear her cry

'Kitty are you alright, you don't have to open the door, just let me know you're okay' she doesn't answer, she just sits there rocking herself until she hears Robert telling everyone to leave and sits down against the bathroom door.

She starts feeling the pain when she ran to the door and feels another wave of nausea and then pukes in the toilet. Robert gets up and tells her to unlock the door. She gives herself a moment and looks in the mirror and sees how much she changed. There was a faint black eye and a scar on her cheek and lip. She lifts up her sweatshirt and sees the bandages that were wrapped there from the surgery. She also sees how pale her skin had become and how her hair grew which was up to her breasts now.

She opens the door and Robert sees her face streaked with tears. Robert starts to say something but kitty raises her hand and stops him 'I'm sorry' she takes a step forward, wraps her arms around him, and puts her head on his chest 'I'm sorry that I've been acting this way and not letting you in'

'Kitty it's understandable after what you've been through' she looks up at him

'But that's the thing, it's not about what I've been through, it's what would happen after that. I didn't want to lash out and cause anyone pain and…'

'The only person that would be in pain is you, don't pretend to be something different for us' he smiles and then kisses her forehead. Kitty smiles back 'we should go back downstairs' Robert was already kissing her neck 'mmm we should, should we'

Kitty pushes him down on the bad and straddles him 'or we could stay up here for a while' she said murmuring against his lips

Robert pulls away after a bit 'unless you think it's too soon' she pushes him down 'trust me it's not too soon' and deepens the kiss while taking off his t-shirt

~R&K~

It was almost dinnertime and Robert and kitty were putting on their clothes, then they headed downstairs.

When they walked in everyone stopped yelling at Kevin and looked at the two and went on drinking their wine.

Kitty stepped up 'ok guys I may have taken the whole sally sunshine thing a bit too far and the thing is I… I just didn't want to hurt anyone'

Kevin spoke up 'kitty I'm sorry I've realized this much harder on you than it is on us and me yelling at you' he sighs 'I was just so scared'

Kitty walks over to him and hugs him 'I know and I'm so sorry'

'Awwww' Sarah says

'Well since we've gotten that dealt with, how 'bout some dinner' said Saul heading toward the dining room. Everyone exclaims and follows him. Saul and Nora were at the head of the table, left of Saul Kevin and Scotty, and holly and Sarah. Right of Saul is Justin and Rebecca, and kitty and Robert. For that moment everything was perfect

A/N please let me know if I should continue this. Next chapter I'll try to make it longer


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